Hopefully you’ve started transitioning to an alternative messaging service, because WhatsApp Vice-president Chris Daniels recently confirmed that the service will start showing ads.
After the departure of both founders (who were against the idea of monetisation through ads), the company has decided that it’s time to flood the only safe space you had left with adverts. The ads will only be displayed in the Status tab, but regardless of placement, the move still feels unwelcome.
“We are going to be putting ads in ‘Status.’ That is going to be [the] primary monetisation mode for the company as well as an opportunity for businesses to reach people on WhatsApp,” said Daniels.
We knew Facebook was planning this, and co-founder Brian Acton has also been very vocal about the incoming monetisation plans.
Although WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app at the moment, with over 1.5 billion users globally, this may drive some users away — especially with online users being ever more conscious of their online privacy.
Daniels didn’t mention when Facebook plans on rolling out ads in WhatsApp. Reports suggest that targeted ads will arrive sometime in 2019.
Source: Android Police